Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (12 page)

"You know sowers are more chronically understaffed
than the reapers. It's rare to find someone with her personality and
potential."

"You think I have great potential?" Annala
asked.

As the sower addressed Annala, her smile was as warm as
the sun on a spring day and her eyes as light as stars at night. Despite her
Seed of Chaos, Annala lost herself in them and listened intently to her musical
words.

"Yes, I do. Oh, where are my manners? I am Suriel,
Right Hand of Life, and overseer of Animacraft. How do you do?" She
curtsied. "I see you as a kind and courageous individual who would do well
in our profession."

"I...I'm flattered, but...it's...I don't know...I suppose
I could…"

Tasio floated between the elf and the angel to obscure the
former’s view of the latter. Then he radiated his own Divine Presence to clear
the air.

"Please do me this favor,” he said to Suriel. “I'll
find someone else for your use."

She pecked his cheek. "Thanks. You're a
sweetie."

Before Annala could blink, the netherian was kissing Eric.
As the kiss continued, she found it difficult to control her mounting jealousy.
It built into a desire to hit this ethereally beautiful lady. As soon as Eric
awoke, he pushed Suriel away, which made her feel better.

"I can explain! I...think..."

"It's okay, Eric,” Annala said, “I already
understand."

“Good! Then could you explain it to me?”

"Eric," Tasio said, "please focus."

Eric sent him a sour look. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to help, like always."

"Where'd Samael go?"

"I convinced her to leave you alone, but it's up to
you to keep her away." Tasio sat cross-legged in mid-air. "She's
agreed to pardon your crimes if you win a wager."

"Let me guess; it's dangerous and you're not going to
help us."

"Correct on both counts, but the true danger is
something else. Your task is to go to the place listed in that crystal."

Tasio pointed to a package peeking out of a mail pile on
Eric's doorstep.
 

"Find the person in that crystal and make sure that
this," Tasio struck a finger at Eric's forehead, "holds dominance
over this." Tasio pointed at Eric's stomach. "Simple enough,
right?"

"There's a catch here."

"Eric, whenever have I not been straight up and
honest with you?"

“Fine. I'll do this wager of yours,
Aio.
"

Tasio winced. Eric didn't notice because his attention
shifted to his mailbox. The letters flowed from his mailbox in a moderate pile.
Inside, he found junk, issues of
Weekly Brain Teasers
, more junk, and a
small package. There was no return address on this last one.

Inside was a piece of paper and a rectangular crystal.
Eric suddenly remembered it was a “viewing crystal,” i.e. a Tariatlan video
camera. The mage looked over both items with his Magic Sight before touching
them. Even with his enlightenment from Dengel's Lair, he didn't see anything
dangerous. Carefully, he unrolled the paper and stared at the squiggles inside.

Annala peeked over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“…I…I can’t…read it.”

“Oh...” Annala stepped back. “That’s okay. I’m sure it
will come back to you.”

“Right, because I’m human and not a grendel.”

“Technically, it’s because you’re a demon and not a
monster.”

Eric’s left hand clenched. He recited the poem in his head
and both reverted. Annala tugged her ear.

"In any case, I’ll read it for you.” She accepted the
paper and read, “No muddy puddle can obscure the All-Seeing Eye, or any fruit
exist beyond the All-Controlling Hand. Resistance is forlorn."

"That is the creed of Order, the Eternal Sustainer,"
Eric recited. "This message is meant to imply that he sees me as something
that can obscure his eye or escape his grasp."

“See?” Annala smiled. "A monster couldn’t remember
all that.”

Shrugging, Eric picked up the crystal and turned it on.
Runes within the crystal projected a screen above it. It showed an old
warehouse. Sun streamed in through high windows, but the interior was still
dark and shadowed. The image shook and a familiar troll appeared.

"Hello, Eric. I haven't seen you since the school
picture thing. How've you been? Me? I work for a zoo now, and at the moment,
I'm watching the latest addition. If you'll direct your attention to center
stage, you'll see what I mean."

He stepped aside and the crystal displayed a pole behind
him. Eric's eyes slitted and an inhuman growl escaped his throat; Annala was tied
to it. The image was so life-like and solid that only the real Annala's hand on
his shoulder convinced him it was fake.

Gruffle backhanded the image. "Wake up, princess. Say
hello to your prince."

Illusion!Annala moaned pitifully and opened her eyes; they
shone with unshed tears. Gruffle tore off the tape gagging her and she yelped
in pain. She spat out a soaked rag and cried, "Eric! Oh, please...you've
got to get me out of here!" Her voice broke and she sobbed. "Evil
troll...He's been leering at me since I woke up! Please hurmm…!"

She was cut off as Gruffle stuffed in a new cloth. She
desperately tossed her head, but he held her in place. Once the cloth was
secure, he pressed a new strip of tape over her mouth. Her words were muffled,
but her sobs were clearly audible.

"This particular item is called 'Eternal Virgin' for
obvious reasons," Gruffle said, and cracks appeared on the crystal's
surface. "Speaking of which..." He moved one of Illusion!Annala's
sundress straps off her shoulder. "I should do some product testing."
More cracks. "If you want to join me, come to the Organic Research
Repository in Healer Town. Better hurry! HAHAHA-”

The real Annala ripped the crystal from Eric's hands
before he could smash it.

"We need this for evidence." Turning to Tasio,
she asked, "I assume the gauntlet we must run is through the Organic
Research Repository, then we capture Gruffle and remove him from the location,
correct?"

Tasio nodded.

"You want me to be Eric's keeper, correct?"

"I would use the term 'morality chain.'"

"If we refuse, Samael will come back and kill us,
correct?"

Suriel floated in front of Tasio. "You could take a
third option with a contract."

"No," both teens said simultaneously.

“As you wish, but if you ever want to become a sower, send
me a prayer.”

In a blink, she disappeared as if she were never there.
Tasio gave them a thumbs-up before doing likewise, but the scarf remained with
Annala so she wouldn’t be cold. Immediately after the deities departed, Annala
punched Eric’s arm.

"Eternal servitude to
Death
! Is removing one
threat to me worth that much to you!? I thought you had a higher opinion of
yourself! You would be dead by now if it weren't for me; no, worse than dead.
You'd be
undead
!'

She smacked him again.

"Reapers are the bottom feeders of Creation! There’s
only one degree of separation between them and
fiends
. You could lose
yourself to
kon
hunger and become a caricature of who you were and
...and... I don't why I bother! You're hopeless!"

She turned away from him and crossed her arms.

“Thank you for saving me.”

She turned back and her arms slipped to her sides.

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I yelled and I’m sorry I
smacked you. I was so worried when Tasio told me you were about to sell your
soul to a nether creature that I lost my temper. Don’t get me wrong; I’m
flattered that you would do such a thing to protect me, but I don’t want you
making such permanent life changing, or life ending, decisions for my sake and
certainly not without my
input.
Understand?”

Eric shifted his right arm into its metal form and placed
it over his heart. “Yes, Lady Annala. I beg you to forgive your loyal knight for
acting without your approval and blessing.”

Annala lifted her nose high into the air. "I shall
forgive you this one time," she said with the utmost haughtiness. "Do
not disappoint your mistress again."

Their roleplay was broken by their simultaneous giggling.    

It was then that they both realized she was still wearing
her nightgown. She insisted on going home to change her clothes before
embarking on their adventure. Eric said he had plenty of warm and combat-capable
clothing inside his home that she could borrow, but she insisted on going back
to her place. Between her blushing cheeks, ear tugging, and averted gaze, it
was impossible for Eric to say “no” to her.

While they walked from Warrior Town to Scholar Town, they
caught up with each other. It had been about two months since Eric left for Dengel’s
Lair in Ceiha and so they had plenty to talk about. Eric told her about the
places he'd seen, what he'd learned about Dengel, and his confrontation with
Mr. 15. Annala told him about her studies, the growth and activities of the Pan
Human-Elf Cultural Awareness Club, and Oito's success in a recent joust.

Whenever they passed under a streetlight, Annala's hair
would shine and Eric's mind would blank at its beauty. It was the golden-brown
of creation and destruction contained within a delicate frame and vast
knowledge. It was only now that he truly understood Grey Dengel's lecture and
the revelation reached every corner of his heart. This led to dissonance in his
mind.

The mage in him recalled the “Beatrice Effect” he read
during his mystical retreat inside Dengel’s Lair. It spoke of the feeling of
the power and majesty of the divine within the unremarkable and earthly. It was
one of the underlying principles of Chaotic Starlight that eluded him. Grey
Dengel told him that it could not be taught; only experienced. Looking at
Annala, with her radiant hair and divinely powered bow, Eric felt compelled to
write poetry starring her.

The mercenary and grendel in him felt intensely
protective. The memories of the former and the instincts of the latter knew the
world to be dangerous and thus such a beautiful flower must be carefully
guarded. This was the root of the dissonance.

The mage insisted on admiring from afar, the mercenary
insisted on close guarding, and the grendel on replicating. The demon composing
all three of them insisted on maintaining the relationship that he remembered.
He controlled himself with constant repetitions of Kallen’s poem. A near slip
on a patch of ice led to Annala grabbing Eric's arm and she didn't let go after
regaining her footing. He focused more intently on the poem for the rest of
their walk.

When they arrived at the library, Annala said she would be
ready “in a minute.” One minute passed and then another as he stood outside the
front door. Ten minutes passed. He never had to wait this long for any of his
teammates. Certainly not Tiza, who slept in the clothes she'd wear that day.
My
brother was right. Some girls really do mean “half an hour” when they say “a minute.”

Eleven minutes in total passed until Annala walked out.
Her hair was tied back into a ponytail. She wore a fur-lined brown brigandine
with long-sleeves, a pteruges-style skirt with stockings for leg warmers and
small archer gloves. Her quiver was refilled and there were daggers at her
waist. There was also a light touch of makeup.
So that's why…

Annala tilted her head. "What's wrong? Do I look
silly?"

"No. You look great."

She smiled brightly. "Thanks."

The Organic Research Repository was in the Green Town of
Hope and Recovery, otherwise known as Healer Town. The neighborhood around it was
deserted for a solid square block. Not even homeless would dare live here for
fear of it. The silence put Eric on edge. To lighten up the night, Eric asked
Annala for the building’s backstory. He knew most of it already, but he wanted
to listen to her talk.

“Harry Butchin wanted to make a name for himself as a
healer while at the same time make a substantial profit and bring relief to
mutation sufferers and hope to future victims. My mother saw him as the opening
she needed to advance her Medical Mana Mutation agenda as part of her broader
and more ambitious plan to bridge the gap between humans and elves. She was
already working with Auntie H, but she needed someone more respectable to
showcase her technology, so Auntie H introduced them.”

“Was this before or after your mother was dubbed ‘The
Witch of Dnnac Ledo’?”

Annala tugged her ear. “Before. In fact, it was this very
event where she...earned that title. You see, elven intellectual property laws
are strict when it comes to sharing technology with non-elves. To get around
this, my mother proposed a contract: aid in my animation research and I will
lease my technology."

"Animation? Do you mean ensouling?"

Annala put on a wry smile. "There ain't no rule
against leasing technology to a living suit of humanoid armor, so that's what
she did. Initially, he was happy about it and even joked about 'selling his
soul' to make this place a reality. Then the patients suffered monsanity, his
business failed, and he sank into despair. He declared my mother a witch
because she turned him into a monster. The last she heard of him, he was trying
to find our village to take revenge.”

“In other words, he literally sold his soul to get revenge
on someone to whom he figuratively sold his soul.”

Annala shrugged. “People don’t think rationally when
they’re depressed or enraged.”

 Then it hit him. Eric could smell the blood and waste of
a community of monsters before he turned the corner onto its street.

It was a narrow, five-story building made of brick and
steel. There were windows on each level like a hospital and a circular drive
for dropping off and picking up patients. A hedge garden was mysteriously
tended to in the main yard. All of it was contained within a cage enchanted
with containment runes. A rusted sign hung by grimy wires on the gate.